To The Bottom
by hbomba
Summary: Bo searches the worlds over for Kenzi, and Lauren reveals the shocking reality of her latest research project.
1. Chapter 1

Title: To The Bottom

Author: hbomba

Rating: M

Summary: Bo searches the worlds over for Kenzi, and Lauren reveals the shocking reality of her latest research project.

Warnings: Post 4x13 and all that it involves.

A/N: Huge thanks goes to my partner, lonejaguar, who tirelessly edits my stories and keeps me honest.

Words: 11,800

* * *

It had been hours since she had sent the Succubus off to face her destiny and minutes since Dyson called to tell her what had happened on the battlefield. Lauren blinked and suddenly found herself in the car, speeding towards the clubhouse.

The Camaro was in the laneway, engine still ticking with effort. She opened the big wooden door and marched into the mud room. Flipping the corner of the welcome mat up with her foot, she palmed the key. Sliding the key into the lock, she stepped into the pitch dark of the shack Bo and Kenzi had called home. Lauren's fingers fumbled for the light switch. "Bo, are you here?" She threw her keys onto the counter and ascended the stairs, following the light coming from a lamp in Bo's empty bedroom. "Bo?" Her leather jacket was laying on the bed. Lauren's fingers caressed the black leather before the floorboards creaked from above the bathroom and dust showered the tile floor. Abandoning the jacket, she climbed another set of steps. She called out for Bo once again, her tone softening as she poked her head into Kenzi's bedroom.

Bo sat motionless on Kenzi's bed, her hunched back to Lauren. "Bo." Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. She sat beside Bo as quietly as she could manage and she waited a long minute before turning to look at her. It was dark in Kenzi's bedroom save some Christmas lights that hung festively around the perimeter of the room. "Are you okay?" She cringed at her own question. She was sure that Bo was exactly the opposite but she was also sure that any of the clinical questions her medical training had given her would be all wrong here, too. Bo either needed to be left alone or she needed Lauren's comfort and never the two shall meet.

Lauren reached out a hand to brush a stray hair from her face.

"Kenzi's gone." She sniffed.

"Bo, I'm sorry."

"Why are you here?"

"I didn't want you to be alone." Lauren reached into Bo's lap to retrieve her hand. She squeezed it between her own. Bo's hands were clammy, something Lauren could say she had never felt from Bo before. "Shit." She reached out and touched Bo's forehead, also clammy. She held two fingers against her wrist and took Bo's pulse. It was sluggish.

"Why are you here?" Bo asked again, obviously confused now.

"Bo, look at me." Bo's eyes wandered the room. "Are you dizzy or nauseous?" Lauren asked.

"Where's Kenzi? Kenz, are you here?" Bo called out.

"Okay honey, I'm just going to lay you back," Lauren stood and helped Bo to lay down. When Lauren turned to get her medical bag, Bo grabbed her hand.

"You can't leave me, Kenzi's gone." Her furrowed brow and red eyes broke Lauren's heart. "Stay with me."

"You're in shock, Bo. I have to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." She dropped Lauren's hand. "Just go."

Lauren stood in the very pit of indecision. She couldn't leave Bo alone, but her bag was two floors below and all she needed to do was to listen to her heart. Lauren climbed onto the bed and lay her head on Bo's chest. Her heart beat proudly beneath her breast and Lauren couldn't help connecting with the sound of her heart pounding against her ear. Bo's hand founds its way into her hair and Lauren's eyes fluttered shut. _Focus_, she thought to herself. _Shit_. Lauren sat up abruptly. "I'm sorry." She shook her head.

Bo's eyes fell shut. "It's okay," she said, her voice barely a whisper. Soon, a soft hum rumbled in the quiet of Kenzi's bedroom as Bo drifted off. Lauren relaxed, letting her head fall onto a pillow and curled around Bo. "Don't go," Bo whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere." Lauren kissed Bo on the cheek. Laying back, she stared up at the twinkling lights. Bo sighed, her breathing was evening out and Lauren found herself exhaling into Bo's hair, her perfume invading Lauren's senses when she inhaled again. One arm draped over Bo's hip, she buried her face, Bo softly snoozing in front of her. Reaching behind her she pulled a blanket over them. Bo hummed and Lauren smiled. She rarely got to see Bo sleep. Not because she wasn't around but because Bo tended to roam the clubhouse. Even after a long session of lovemaking, Bo would put on a kimono and descend to the main floor with a sexy smile and a sparkle in her eye. Eventually she would return to bed but by that time Lauren was out cold. But, tonight. Tonight she was able to enjoy the pure beauty that Bo possessed. Unfettered from grief until she wakes and the agonizing starts anew.

* * *

Lauren awoke with a start. She patted the bed beside her and sure enough, Bo was gone. Untangling herself from the blankets, she swore to herself, "Sure I can keep an eye on Bo. I promise not to fall asleep and let her out of my sight," Lauren mocked herself. She started down the stairs when Bo appeared at the bottom, holding two steaming mugs. "Hi," Lauren smiled.

"Hi." Bo began to ascend the staircase. At the top she passed a mug to Lauren. "I made coffee."

"Thank you," she said taking Bo's hand and pulling her to sit with her on the bed. Lauren took a sip of her coffee and made a face.

"It's not very good," Bo said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Thanks for the warning." Lauren smirked and set the coffee on the bedside table.

"Kenzi used to make the coffee."

"You'll get the hang of it, this stuff takes time."

"I don't want to get the hang of being okay that Kenzi sacrificed herself for me."

"Bo, I didn't mean-" Lauren started.

"-I know." She waved a hand and she sipped the awful coffee, swallowing hard and making a face as she did.

Lauren took the mug from Bo and set it aside. "Don't drink that."

Bo sighed. "Will you teach me how to make coffee?"

Lauren smiled. "Of course."

Twenty minutes later they returned to Kenzi's bedroom with fresh, more palatable cups of coffee. The bedroom was now a sort of holy ground zero. Things stayed where they were-as she left them. The women sat on the bed again, their backs to the headboard. Lauren rested her head on Bo's shoulder and Bo leaned against Lauren.

"Remember how she used to make us breakfast on Sunday mornings? No matter if we were up all night drinking or home by eight." Bo swallowed, blinking back the tears. Lauren caressed her leg. "And the little messages she'd write on the mirror in the bathroom steam…" Lauren smiled remembering pieces of song lyrics or just a simple 'I love you', Kenzi had a spirit like no other.

Bo unzipped her boots and threw them over the side of the bed. She could hear Kenzi yell _Be careful with the ladies! _She could never abide by shoe abuse. "Ugh. I can't believe I slept in those."

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you." Lauren apologized awkwardly.

Bo covered Lauren's hand with her own, "You've done enough." Her fingers curled around Lauren's hand and Bo nodded at her. "Thank you."

They sat in silence, Lauren mulling over the idea that she had done all that Bo needed or asked of her while Bo silently punished herself for Kenzi's decision. They would go round and round in the days to come about just who was to blame for Kenzi closing the portal the way she did. She would catch Bo in tears on occasion, mostly when they were getting ready for bed and she had too much time to herself. But Lauren was there to support her, to love her and to care for her, helping her through one of the most difficult times in her life.

Most days it was Bo that fumbled through life, where making a decision was like pulling eye-teeth and pain was an idea more than a physical experience. And Bo was learning that she'd much rather be gutted literally rather than figuratively. Through it all, Lauren tried to make the transition to living without Kenzi-without her guiding heart-easier and, for her part, Bo leaned heavily on Lauren.

And Lauren never let herself feel much of anything about Kenzi's death. They were finally friends with an understanding of each other's place in Bo's life when it was all cut short. Lauren knew how much deeper Kenzi's connection with Bo was so she sidelined any emotions she thought she should have to focus on Bo's fragile emotional state.

Life went on for weeks like this and Bo's progress was charted slowly but as the days went on, she began to smile a little more, blame herself a little less and most importantly, she began to feel again. No longer numbed by the traumatic event that shaped her current state.

Bo had a hop to her step today. She moved through the kitchen effortlessly and Lauren sat on a stool watching the changed woman before her. She slid a plate in front of Lauren and held open the pizza box. Bo had "cooked" them dinner. This after disappearing on an errand that afternoon, Lauren was pretty sure the pizza tasted less like a Kenzi special and more like a Bo special. After waiting a month for her to come around, it finally looked as though Bo was making strides to move past her grief but it was all a little sudden for Lauren's tastes.

"You look great today," Lauren said with a smile.

"I feel great," Bo bit into a slice. "Everything is going to be all right." She reached across the table and covered Lauren's hand with her own.

Lauren intertwined her fingers with Bo's and sighed. "Why the change of heart?"

"I've spent too much time feeling sorry for myself, for Kenzi, for us these past few weeks but today I realized something. I could sit around and feel sorry for us all till the end of time but that won't bring Kenzi back. The only way I'm going to do that is to march on Valhalla to Hel and back if need be. If that bitch Leviathan wants a fight, she's gonna get one."

Lauren was startled by her hard boiled plan. Bo running off half-cocked is the last thing they needed. "Bo, it's too dangerous." She shook her head. "The Leviathan is a trickster, what if she traps you? How are you ever going to get Kenzi out by putting yourself in danger?"

"The Leviathan knew this would happen, she told me someone I love very much would die-"

"Then she'll be ready for your return. Don't you see? This isn't a game, Bo."

"What do you suggest then?" Bo asked.

"Let me help." She blurted in desperation. Lauren's eyes met Bo's and the tension ratcheted up a few notches.

"Enough people have died helping me," Bo said solemnly.

"All I'm asking is that you tell me your plan and we work through it together." Bo smiled and turned to brush Lauren's blonde hair from her cheek. "Bo," she shook her head. "I know a lot of people would like to see you go to Hel, but I'm the one that wants to see you make it back."

"Doctor, what did I do to deserve such devotion?" The corners of Bo's mouth curled upwards and Lauren felt the familiar flush spread across her cheeks at Bo's mention of her title.

Lauren covered Bo's hand with her own. "Do you really want to talk about that now?"

Smirking at that, Bo looked down at their fingers intertwined. "Lauren," she started. "You blow me away. You're smart and gorgeous and I love you." She let that statement hang between them. Lauren wanted to plead with her not to do what she was bound and determined to do but she knew that would be futile. Kenzi was the missing piece in all of them but for Bo her absence became the fire in her belly, the burning in her brain. Her sister had been taken and Bo would do whatever it took to get her back. "Tamsin said she was lost but I don't believe it. I can't believe it. If she's not in Valhalla, I will search until I find her."

"Why do I get the distinct feeling that I'm going to wake up in the middle of the night to find you gone having left a note on your pillow that says 'Gone to Hel?'"

Bo smiled. "Give me a little credit. I'd at least have the good graces to say 'Be back soon.'"

Amusement tugged at the corners of Lauren's mouth as she nodded. She loved their free and easy banter. She had missed Bo so much during her exile from the Fae and then her exile with the Dark. It was tough to watch Bo carry on without her over a decision she had made for her benefit and there were many times when she had wavered over the plan she had concocted that ultimately kept them apart.

For science. For love. Of that Lauren was certain, now more than ever. Her love for Bo was all-consuming. And that was why she hesitated telling Bo what she needed to know to begin her quest to save Kenzi from the underworld.

"So what's your plan?" Lauren asked Bo.

"I'm going to the graveyard. The crows showed me that I could jump into Hel through a fresh grave. I figure that as good a place to start as any." Bo shrugged.

"That's it?" Lauren raised her eyebrows. "That's your plan?"

"It's more like a concept."

"Bo, how are you going to come home?"

"Last time I played word games with the Leviathan. Hey-can you help me come up with an unbeatable riddle?"

"She underestimated you the first time, she won't do that again. Listen, I took some things from the Dark archives before Massimo…you know. I just need some time to go over the information and I think I can come up with something that might suit your needs better."

"Stealing from the Dark…You're all kinds of awesome these days, Doctor." Bo smiled flirtatiously.

"I was going to bring them back," Lauren said defensively, a smile creeping onto her face. "But I had to make a spirited exit."

* * *

Lauren held a book aloft, reading it as she waited for the kettle to boil. Bo watched her from across the room, losing herself to the sweet way she furrowed her brow and mouthed random passages of text. As the kettle's whistle sounded, Lauren lifted it and filled a pair of mugs. She lowered the book, turning her attention to stirring cocoa into the mugs.

"In Norse mythology there is a great ash tree whose branches and roots reach to the nine sacred realms. There are three wells that act as portals to the worlds-the well of wisdom, the well of destiny and the red herring, the roaring kettle, a fiery lair to the Nidhogg." Lauren tucked the book beneath her arm and carried the mugs to the living room. She returned to the pile of scrolls and maps on the couch.

"That sounds unpleasant." Bo took one of the mugs from her and plopped down beside Lauren, jostling the scrolls and maps she had spread across her lap.

"Let's just say that unless you want to fight a giant, fiery warthog without your powers, you'd best stay away from that well."

Hours had passed since Lauren had promised to come up with a better plan but she was filling her head full of papyrus lore, trying to find something that would help Bo. So far, her quest threatened to be her last. Bo had not faced anything like this before and Lauren was beginning to lose hope that she'd make it back to her.

And then, just like all great scientists before her, Lauren had a breakthrough. A moment of enlightenment, of pure understanding. Lauren discovered the key to it all: a talisman.

"This is it," Lauren patted the book on her lap. "There's a way to transport through the realms or get out quick if you need to. We need to assign something to be a talisman, it needs to have meaning to the person who uses it."

Bo covered the charm resting on her chest. "The necklace," she said.

Lauren smiled quietly to herself. After not wearing it for the past six months, Bo and the necklace were nearly inseparable now. The implications of this were still vague because they never made time to talk. They always moved from one adventure to the next, never tending to the home fires.

"How does it work?" Bo asked. "I mean, the necklace hasn't changed…"

"I'm not positive but if the translations are right, by focusing your energy on a talisman, you will be transported throughout the realms."

"You never cease to amaze me." Bo smiled and moved in close.

Lauren wet her lips. "That's my line." She smiled, their eyes connecting and Lauren felt weak in the knees. A flash of blue in Bo's baby browns betrayed her intentions. "We should go," Lauren said.

* * *

It was a long drive north to the protected forests, where the Yggdrasil, the mighty ash tree flourished, even in winter. Amidst a vast forest, whose roots reached to the underworld and its branches reached toward the heavens. Surrounding the great tree were three wells that acted as the portals to the nine realms. The wells were dilapidated, stone and brick flaking away.

Bo circled the wells. "How do I tell which is which?"

"Look around for markers, a stone, brick or tile with Norse writing." Lauren suggested.

Bo knelt beside a well, brushing away snow and twigs from a plaque just below the frozen surface. "The well of Urd?"

"It's the well of destiny, Bo." Lauren looked up from the papyrus.

Bo gritted her teeth. "I'm really getting sick of that word."

"Listen," she hushed. "It's guarded by three Norns."

"This just keeps getting better and better." Bo kicked at the snow.

"Just don't give away your love or your Succubus and everything will be fine."

"I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor in these troubled times."

"You have to admit there are a lot of parallels…" Lauren said seriously.

Bo stood and walked toward Lauren. "No," Bo shook her head. "I don't." She reached out and brought her hands to rest at either side of Lauren's face. "_You_ are the one that I love, _you_ are the one I choose and I would never give that up to a Norn or anyone else."

The conviction in Bo's voice made the lump in Lauren's throat impossibly hard to swallow. "Bo you're going to the mystical Norse underworld, This isn't something that a person can prepare themselves for.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Bo said, the swagger back in her voice.

Lauren sighed. "Bo, if anything ever happened to you-"

Bo kissed her softly. "You'd fix me." She smiled.

"But I can't come with you."

"I'll always find my way back to you." Bo held Lauren's hands in her own and inhaled. "So how exactly do I enter a well?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you have to jump in," Lauren replied.

Bo leaned over the well's opening. "It's pitch black. That's not scary."

"You won't be able to feed in the other realms so keep yourself out of trouble," Lauren said. "Don't go picking fights." Lauren said.

"No fights, got it." Bo climbed the rock face of the well and stood on the edge. "Here goes nothing." Bo winked at Lauren before hopping into the well of destiny and disappearing.

Freefalling for what felt like minutes, Bo was weightless, her stomach lodged in her throat and just when she thought she was going to be road kill, she was plunged into water. The impact stung her skin. She opened her eyes underwater and spotted a light, diving deeper, she chased it. Bo was out of breath and there was no way she could make it back now, so she dove further into the bottomless pit of the well, pushing herself harder. She couldn't fail Kenzi and she made a promise to Lauren, too. But Bo remained confident that disappearing into an ancient well in the middle of the forest was not how she was going to go out. Of that she was sure.

A few hard strokes and Bo spilled onto a dock, through a wall of water that shimmered before her. She rolled onto her back gasping for air. She saw spots. Her hand gripped the dagger strapped to her thigh as she caught her breath. After a few moments her vision cleared and she sat up, looking around. Three women stood around a fire, oblivious of Bo's presence. She clambered to her hands and knees and stood unsteadily. The women whispered to each other.

"Nice welcoming committee you've got here." Bo stood defiantly in front of the fire the women surrounded.

The short and plump Norn turned to face Bo, "We've been expecting you."

"Of course you have." Bo wrung out her jacket and grew warm by the fire.

"I wrote the story of your life when you were born, Succubus," the tall Norn said, "You may think you are unpredictable but it's all here." She patted the papyrus roll in her hand.

"Give me that," Bo demanded.

"Sorry, honey, the story of your life is not your own," the third, more aged Norn spoke at last.

"There's only one person I let call me honey and it's not you." Bo held up a hand.

"Of course, the doctor." A grim smile spread across her face. "She's keeping something from you, even now."

Bo frowned. "Leave Lauren out of this."

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Your fates are intertwined." The sly smile that haunted Bo was back. "But you knew that already, didn't you? Or else you wouldn't be wearing her talisman."

"What do you know about it?"

"Child, I know everything," the older Norn spoke slowly.

"I beg to differ. Your fashion sense leaves a lot to be desired, ladies." The three Norns laughed, unaffected by Bo's words. Bo joined in awkwardly. "Shit." She sighed. "So tell me why I'm here."

"You are here for the heart," the wise Norn replied.

"How do I get her back?" Bo asked.

"You must quest through the realms for her. Body and spirit are lost. Valhalla is locked. The doctor is in mortal danger."

"No, that's impossible. How am I supposed to save them both?" Bo felt the frustration choking the words from her throat.

The oldest Norn began to laugh and the hurt look on Bo's face only lasted a moment before she grew angry. "You're still so young, aren't you? You have to believe in yourself, Child. Believe."

There was a snap of fingers echoing in the cavern and the Norn were gone, Bo was alone. "Shit," she said again. "What do I do now?" Bo paced around the fire as her mind raced. "Kenzi. Lauren," Bo whispered. "Alright, let's try this. Show me what you've got." She squeezed the necklace in her hand. "Valhalla."

A white light enveloped her and a second later she was standing at the frosty gates of Valhalla. Bo smiled and shook her head. "Neat trick, Doctor."

Bo rattled the gate and yanked on the absurdly large pad lock and chain.

"She's not here. Go away," a voice came from behind the gate.

"How do you know who I'm looking for?" Bo asked.

"I know all, Succubus. You seek your heart, lost to you after you foolishly almost freed the Pyrippus."

"Listen up, ass," Bo said with much malice in her tone. "Tell me where she is or I'm going to have a Succubus tantrum all up in here."

"Don't you think they know what you're planning? What you yourself don't even know you're about to do? They are the Gods and you mustn't underestimate their power and insight."

"Why does everyone know about my destiny except me?" Bo grumped.


	2. Chapter 2

Lauren sat in the Camaro madly typing on her laptop. Daylight was fading and she had no clue how long finding Kenzi would take but she had supplies in the car if she needed to stay out in the middle of nowhere for a few days.

She sent Bo into the unknown with only an unproven necklace and some general geography of the realms. _Oh, God, what have I done? _A flash of headlights startled Lauren out of her notes. Quickly, she set the laptop aside and turned the key in the ignition. She kept the Camaro dark as she rolled away slowly. A half-mile through the forest she had another parking spot. Pulling in slowly, she killed the engine, hopping out to cover the back end of the car with fallen branches they had collected earlier. She would be safe here, and if she wasn't safe, Lauren reached into the back seat to retrieve a toolbox that she had placed there, she had an answer for that, too. Unbuckling the toolbox, she pushed back the lid to reveal a number of test tubes nestled neatly in place and labeled in Lauren's handwriting. Loading the syringe gun with one of the test tubes, Lauren tied off her arm before injecting the serum into her blood.

She dropped the syringe gun and tensed, eyes rolling back into her head. She hadn't worked through the side-effects yet, so this temporary paralysis and small seizure were expected but not really appreciated when Lauren saw the flashlights combing the forest for them.

* * *

Bo stood, cast off from Valhalla staring at a papyrus scroll with the map of the nine realms that Lauren had given her. She couldn't remember where Lauren had suggested she look and she had already grown tired of realms' bullshit, so Bo played eenie-meenie-minie-mo to decide where she would travel next. Bo shrugged. "Hel goes nothing." She held the necklace and whispered the fateful word.

It felt like she was taking an express elevator, except the elevator was crashing through floors as Bo was transported. She landed hard, the bright white flash blinding her in the now pitch dark. "Shazbot!" her voice echoed into the darkened cavern. Bo stood unsteadily, calling out: "Kenzi, are you down here?"

Dragging a hand along the uneven stone walls, Bo traveled the halls of Hel until she found a familiar cavern. The smirk that Levi wore brought her back to a time before the Hel gate, a time before her own memory had returned. When she foretold Kenzi's death.

"We need to talk, Levi." Bo said, knocking down a pile of stones. The Leviathan spun around to meet Bo's stare.

She snorted. "It's the Succubus," she mocked, "looking for her heart. Aw." Levi pouted.

Bo pulled the dagger from her thigh and held it against Levi's throat. "I'm gonna need some answers."

* * *

Lauren inhaled as the side effects began to pass. Her body relaxed and she rolled out of the car, on an intersect path with what could only be presumed as foe. She ran through the snow quietly, ducking in and out of the trees as she approached the lights. Three men crisscrossed the terrain. Lauren inhaled, they were ogres, the Morrigan's preferred reconnaissance team.

_That sounded about right. _

She found the first one peeing on a tree and shot the syringe into his neck. His eyes went wide as his power drained and Lauren took the opportunity to drop the significantly larger man with a swift elbow to his face. She felt imbued with strength, speed and acuity.

Lauren had learned a few things from Bo, and though she was no pugilist, Lauren had learned there was a time and a place for fighting back. And now she fought for her love, a friend, and their life together. Bo was on the front lines but Lauren, she was holding down the fort.

She circled back in her footsteps and waited in the shadow of an evergreen tree. Whoever came close to the Camaro would soon find themselves at the pointy end of another syringe.

* * *

The Leviathan pushed away from Bo as quickly as she had been captured. She put some space between her and Bo, backing away to the other side of the room. She knew Bo was bluffing, the only thing that was dangerous about her at that moment was the knife she held in her hand.

"I think it's time for a riddle, don't you?"

"Listen lady, I don't care about your word games. I'm tired of your shit and I don't need you to get out of here so-"

"You don't need me?" Just as Bo reached for her necklace, Levi held the pendant aloft. "I think you might see things differently now."

"You cheated."

"So did you."

Bo crossed her arms. "Call it even?"

"That depends on one thing."

"And what is that?" Bo holstered her weapon.

"What gets broken without being held?"

"I told you I'm not playing." Bo remained obstinate.

The Leviathan made a grand gesture. "You will play if you want this memento back."

Methodically, Bo began to pace the chamber. A fire glowed in the corner with a cauldron burbling quietly in the space. She took her time, she couldn't afford to be wrong.

Bo clapped her hands together. "A promise," she said. The Leviathan's head fell back as she cackled. Bo looked confused.

"You wouldn't know anything about pledging to protect anyone, would you?"

"I'm kinda trying to fix that as we speak."

Levi nearly choked on the glee she felt. "You quest for the heart but it is your soul that you have left behind."

"Lauren?"

"Why do you think you can't use your powers here? A magical realm and you can't use your very supernatural powers? How little sense that makes!"

Bo walked over to Levi and snatched the necklace from her hand. "What about Lauren?"

"My dear, you already know what it is that I'm going to say."

The Leviathan focused her eerie gaze on Bo as she fastened the necklace around her neck.

"She's in danger and you are at a crossroads. Continue on to find the heart and you may find you beloved doctor has expired in the mean time."

"No, that's not going to happen." Bo shook her head, denial coursing through her very veins. "I can save them both." She covered the necklace with her hand and pulled her map from her jacket. "Nidavellir."

* * *

There was one ogre left and she had lost sight of him five minutes ago. She scrambled toward the well, afraid that Bo and Kenzi had returned and the ogre had set upon them. As her feet sprinted through the snow silently, her brain raced with what-ifs. She skidded to a stop in the slush and scoped out the open area. No sign of Bo, Kenzi, or the long-lost Ogre. Maybe he got scared and-

Just like that, the ogre's forearm shot out and clothes-lined Lauren. She gasped for air, her lungs burning from the impact. Lifting Lauren off the ground he slid a knife into her side. She cried out, lifting the syringe gun, she aimed it at his neck, but his large hand swatted it away. Lauren was defenseless now. All the strength in the world could scarcely make a difference now. She was badly wounded and the pain was white hot and excruciating. Lauren grew nauseous and nearly lost consciousness. The ogre wasn't done yet, he tossed her into a snow bank like a rag doll. She coughed, the taste of iron making her gag as she spit a mouthful of blood on the Ogre's shoes. He growled and wielded his blade menacingly.

"Where's your Succubus now?" His eyes were hard, old and unpredictable.

Lauren was over her head. Her syringe lay ten feet away, she was bleeding profusely and he appeared to be just getting started with her. That thought alone terrified her. She supposed it would be too much to hope for that Bo would return to save her, too.

* * *

Bo entered Nidavellir indelicately, connecting with the soft, overgrown grass with a thump. She stood upon a cliff overlooking an impassible ocean. She wished she had time to enjoy the view but she was so weary now, each jump through the talisman took something out of her. Her hunger was becoming oppressive, she had to find Kenzi and get back to Lauren before… before, what? Lauren was safe, Bo had to believe that. Time was wasting, so she turned and went in search of civilization.

An hour later, Bo had found a small town on the outskirts of a forest. The villagers welcomed her, though Bo wasn't sure why they'd be so excited to see a succubus but she accepted their best ale and a meal of game meat and freshly sown vegetables. She listened to a large man tell folk tales as he toasted to the fallen soldiers of Nidavellir. Bo held her stein aloft and said a prayer for the fallen members of her family.

At the sound of Bo's voice a familiar spirit awoke from its slumber.

"Bo!" Kenzi howled but her voice was but a squeak amongst the men and mead that surrounded the Succubus. She had to get her attention. Kenzi walked around a pillar slowly dragging her hand around the dimpled marble. Bo looked up just as Kenzi disappeared around the back of the pillar but Bo had seen her. She pushed back from the table and followed Kenzi's path. She was standing right in front of Kenzi now but had no way to communicate, she was invisible to the Succubus.

Bo investigated the area around the pillar and when Kenzi hollered at the top of her lungs Bo finally heard her and like that, Bo set eyes on her best friend for the first time in what felt like months. But something was strange about her. "Kenzi, you're a-"

"A spiritual body, I know right?" Kenzi posed proudly.

Bo squeezed the smaller woman and held her tight against her chest. "Kenzi, I'm so sorry."

"No need to panic but we kinda have to find my body before they incinerate it or I'll never be able to come home."

"Shit. It's never easy, is it?" Bo griped.

Bo had seen the pyre in her travels so she quickly backtracked to the wrought iron gates of Nidavellir. A pile of humans discarded like trash stood just inside the gates. A man approached with a torch and Bo began to run. Her legs burned as she pushed herself harder and faster toward the man but she was unavoidably average. "Stop!" she yelled.

But it was too late. He casually tossed the torch onto the bodies and they began to burn. "No!" she yelled, spotting Kenzi's body on the outer edge of the pyre. The flames had just began to feather against Kenzi's body when Bo wrenched it from the pile of putrid decay. Ten feet back from the pyre now, Bo patted out any flames on Kenzi's body and smoothed her hair away from her face. "Kenzi." She shook the body and looked around for her spirit. "Come back," she said. "Please." Bo's arm slid under Kenzi's shoulder and held her up.

It was only a moment before Bo keyed in on a sinister laugh. Her eyes shot up and raked over the crowd. A Dolgar-with his ghastly, Lurch-ish body, milky eyes and rows of snarling teeth-was holding Kenzi back. His clawed thumb pressed into Kenzi's cheek until it drew blood.

"Let her go," Bo ordered.

"Rule breaking succubus breaks down the gates of the realms questing for her human." His teeth were pointed and the saliva gathered on his lips and at the corners of his mouth.

"Listen, Death-breath, I've come a long way and I don't want any trouble. So just give me that spirit and I'll be on my way."

"Oh, I respectfully disagree, Succubus. You're going to keep coming back, rescuing your friends and lovers until the dawn of a new age."

Bo stopped. The Leviathan had foretold Kenzi's death, could the Dolgar be predicting Tamsin, Dyson or, god forbid, Lauren's demise? She set Kenzi's body down gently and stood to face the latest asshole to threaten her family.

"Okay buddy, now you're going to tell me what you know or I'm going to break your arm."

"The prophecy foretold an insolent Succubus that came to the nine realms for her heart only to lose her soul, her love, the blonde doctor."

Bo's façade cracked. "No, you're lying. Lauren's safe."

"Turn enough Fae to humans and they have a funny way of revolting. I can almost hear the mob now…"

"Bo!" Kenzi called out as the Succubus reeled from the Dolgar's tale. She looked up at the snarling face of the Dolgar and pulled the dagger from her thigh holster to throw it into the hand that held Kenzi back.

A thousand images flooded Bo's memory. Her and Kenzi vandalizing a car, trying to kill each another under the spell of a giant spider, getting all decked out and going undercover to a strip club, to a dance club, hell, just getting dressed up, drinking until all hours of the night, a popsicle in her ear, and finally the first day that Bo met Kenzi and she was being manhandled by a Fae as she tried to save Bo. Instinctively, Bo made the same move, pulling a dagger and firing it into his hand. Both times ended in the same result: Kenzi was freed. Her spirit ran toward Bo and dived into her body, still crumpled on the ground.

Kenzi gasped for air and sat up, whole again, falling into Bo's arms, a ragged sob escaping her. The Dolgar stood and advanced upon them, snarling and waving Bo's dagger at the women. "Shit." Never one to back down, Bo stood her ground despite her growing hunger and weakening body. The Dolgar grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground.

"Bo!" Kenzi cried out.

Bo had felt swallowed whole by humanness in the other realms. When she fought, all her strikes felt like duds with no real explosion of power behind them. She was slower, more predictable. And now the Dolgar could see her moves a mile away and punished her for it. And her hunger, oh, her hunger. It was a wretched and painful experience. She was starving to death slowly. If Bo stayed below much longer, she might succumb to the challenges of the realms.

Bo had a new understanding of what Kenzi and Lauren both face. Bo empathized with her humans to live as such in the Fae world was to be truly vulnerable and Bo was overcome by her duty to them. Impressed by their resourcefulness and strength. To be so weak and yet so strong all at once was the real riddle. And how their hearts could be so big that they could eclipse Bo's and teach her about loving. It was this devotion that truly set them apart. It was the reason Bo could never love a Fae as she has loved Kenzi or Lauren. Heart and soul, friend and lover, warrior and healer-they were her humans and not in the sense that she owned them but in the sense that they owned her.

She went for his eyes first, blinding him momentarily and causing him to drop her. A flurry of punches and kicks did little to weaken the Dolgar, who only laughed at her attempts. She was barely as strong as a human now and he seemed to have unlimited strength. He smacked her hard, drawing blood from her lip and knocking her down again. Her head swam. This was a fight she could not win. She reached for the charm that hung her neck and called out for Kenzi. "Take my hand." As their palms clapped together, she focused all her energy on Lauren. "Bring us home," she whispered.

A white flash and the soft crunch of forest underfoot signaled their arrival. The electric charge made the hair on her arms stand on end. Kenzi stood unevenly, not used to gravity's pull. They were back in their realm.

"Bo!" Lauren shouted. Bo's head whipped around to see the Ogre, stab Lauren again.

"Lauren!" Bo limped to her side and knelt by her body, the Ogre towering over her, laughing. "No, no, no, no-" Bo sobbed. They had all warned her about Lauren but she continued to quest for Kenzi. This was all her fault. "Oh shit, stay with me, breathe." Lauren's eyes met Bo's for a moment and then she faded away.

"Can't save this one, Succubus!" The phlegm-y guffaw that followed set Bo off. She stood and kneed the Ogre in his groin before dealing a disgusting crack to his nose and landing an elbow to his stomach.

Her eyes glowed white, her hair blew wildly in the wind, her arms stretched out-and Kenzi, having seen this trick before, hit the deck. A trail of chi rushed toward Bo as she Bo drained the Ogre in front of her. Kenzi watched in awe as a number of other chi trails rose up from the trees and fed Bo. Lauren had left a number of incapacitated ogres littering the forest and she pulled all of their chi, and kneeling before her fallen lover, she gave it all to her.

Lauren gasped, sitting up. She looked down at her clothing, covered in blood and pulled up her shirt to check the wounds, miraculously gone. She clambered to her feet.

Bo faltered and Kenzi was there to hold her up. Lauren soon joined her and they set Bo against the base of the tree. Lauren knelt beside her, running a hand along Bo's jaw. "Take some of my chi, Bo."

Bo shook her head. "No," she said. "You know I can't do that," she said seriously. "Take me to the Dal."

"Bo, you can barely walk."

"I just need a feed."

"Then just take what you need. Please, Bo."

Bo sniffed once. And again. "You didn't-" Pulling Lauren into a kiss, Bo drew back and tasted her chi, just enough to take the edge off. "Oh, Lauren, what have you done?"

"Nothing that can't be undone." She stood back and admired the handy work of Fae chi. She felt more powerful, faster, stronger, better. Best of all, she could finally be a sparkplug for Bo. She could finally come to Lauren when she needed healing. But the look in Bo's eyes, the hurt and something she couldn't say, haunted her. It made her doubt a decision she thought she had made for the betterment of them both. Bo took a step back from the Doctor.

Kenzi stood back and gawked. "Doc, you're Fae?"

"For a time," Lauren said looking after Bo.

"What can you do? Show me your tricks!" Kenzi exclaimed. Kenzi had picked up exactly where they had left off. There was no emotional reunion, just Kenzi being Kenzi and Bo felt lighter, less familiar to Lauren.

"I'm a healer, based on the DNA of a descendant of the goddess Eir." Her smile barely contained her excitement about this development.

"Wait a minute. You're a Fae doctor now?" Kenzi scrunched her nose. "No offense, Doc, but could you be a little less predictable?"

"Maybe next time…" Lauren said wistfully.

"What?" Kenzi and Bo said in unison.

Lauren looked up from her nails and shook her head. "Nothing."

That was the thing about Lauren's method in synthesizing Fae DNA with human DNA. It didn't last. Three days on the outset before powers would return or as a human, she would lose them altogether.

And for the second time that night, Lauren said, "We should go." She needed to get back to her lab to test her blood and she was sure it wouldn't be long before the Morrigan's crew was hunting them down again.

Lauren brought a hand to rest on Kenzi's cheek, covering where the Dolgar had scratched her face. "So Doc, you know I love you and all but I think we're wading into some very scary territory here."

She smirked and shushed Kenzi. "Just watch." Lauren's palm glowed in the darkness of the forest and when she withdrew the cut was gone.

Bo stood a few steps away with her arms crossed.

"I retract my earlier statement. Fae doctor equals _awesome_!" she said in a sing-song voice.

Kenzi two-stepped over to Bo. "Aw, BoBo, why the long face?"

Bo shook her head. "Nothing." Her eyes raked over Lauren as she gathered her things and led them toward the Camaro. Bo was impressed with Lauren's resourcefulness. She could smell the dead hidden in the trees. Whatever Lauren had done, it worked. There was a swagger to her walk tonight, a fine sway of her hips and stomp to her step. As Kenzi would say, her walk was _fierce_. She tossed her blonde curls over her shoulder and looked back at Bo. Bo didn't want to want her but she did. The ache that invaded her body was unmistakable. It was so familiarly Lauren that Bo couldn't deny it. But Lauren had…what? What was the end of that sentence? She played with the laws of nature? She used Fae DNA to her advantage? She betrayed Bo and her love of humans? Bo's love of her as a human? All of these things Lauren thought Bo could forgive when she saw what Lauren could do, when she learned it wasn't forever, but Bo wasn't interested in anything beyond the initial betrayal of trust. And it didn't change the fact that Bo wanted her still, all cocky and alive with Fae DNA.


	3. Chapter 3

The drive home was a quiet affair. Kenzi fell asleep in the back, Bo took to the wheel and Lauren curled into the bucket seat beside Bo wishing that she'd talk to her.

"Say something, Bo."

"I don't think you want to hear anything I have to say to you right now," Bo replied impetuously.

"It was self-preservation. The Morrigan sent all those ogre thugs after us and you weren't there."

"You didn't need to shoot yourself full of Fae DNA to become self-reliant, Lauren."

And Bo was right, she didn't. It was just the easiest out and Lauren never meant to choose it over Bo but the expression on Bo's drawn face told the story. "How do I fix this?"

Bo stared straight ahead at the road and Lauren's eyes were trained on her. "We'll talk about it when we get home."

If that wasn't a dreadful response, Lauren didn't know what could be worse than a proclamation like Bo's. She sunk into the bucket seat and sighed. Sometimes Bo's self righteousness ate at Lauren's sense of self. She knew Bo had ideals for herself that seemed set in stone but she often imposed those ideals on the people that she loves. And, though Bo loved her with all the greatness in her chest, she could never undo the weight her expectations had on Lauren, Kenzi and even Dyson.

Bo was as hard-headed as she was soft-hearted and as Lauren looked at her she could feel the heat rolling off of Bo. That meant one of two things: sex or anger, and Lauren was willing to take her chances with both. The front end rumbled with the engine's effort and eventually, Lauren drifted off as the engine raged on.

She woke with a start as Kenzi patted her thigh. "Wakey, wakey, Doc!"

Lauren looked around disoriented. She looked through the windshield to see the clubhouse, the only time she had ever been so happy to see the derelict building. The door creaked pitifully as she opened the Camaro's passenger door. She pulled the seat forward for Kenzi as Bo had immediately abandoned them when they got home. Lauren reached behind the seat for her toolbox and laptop case but they were both gone. "Shit."

She marched in the front door of the clubhouse and made a beeline for Bo's bedroom. The bathtub was running when she reached the top of the stairs and Lauren followed the light into Bo's bedroom. Her laptop sat open at the startup screen, Bo had been unsuccessful in reading her notes but she had gone through the tool box and the serums were strewn across the bed.

"Is this what you meant by talk?" Lauren motioned to the mess of her things on the bed.

"I needed to know."

"What? What could you possibly need to know?"

"Why you did it."

"So ask me!" Lauren grew impatient. "We can't keep doing this Bo. You love me and you accept me or you don't but never doubt my devotion to you."

"I love you and accept you as a _human_. You're messing with things that you shouldn't. You're brilliant, Lauren, you don't need to prove it like this."

Lauren shifted her weight on her feet and clenched her jaw. "I'm not trying to prove anything to anyone, Bo, I'm conducting experiments like a scientist."

"What kind of scientist takes a drug that has no clinical trials?"

Lauren cocked her head at Bo. All those years she had been listening to her. She saw right through Lauren's big experiment because it was flawed. "I had no choice, Bo. They were coming for me and you were looking for Kenzi and I'm tired of being the bait for you."

"Bait for me? Honey, for once this has nothing to do with me."

"So where do we go from here?"

"I don't know," Bo said sadly.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Don't act like I've done something so reprehensible that you don't know if you can be with me anymore."

Bo turned and walked away, into the bathroom. She set about sprinkling bath salts into the tub and shut the water off. "So that's that, then? You're just going to have a bath and I'm supposed to do what?"

"You can do what you want, but I've had a helluva day and all I want now is to wash the Dolgar drool, the Norn's pool, and Dwarf spittle away."

She peeled away her clothes quickly. making being mad at Bo extremely difficult. Stepping into the tub, she lowered herself into the water and sighed. They hadn't made love in months, not since Lauren came back from exile. A quick and dirty fumbling on a couch at a Dark Fae party and then Lauren was an outcast again. She turned to leave and stopped herself, looking skyward before spinning around to face Bo once again. "I did it for you." Bo's eyes opened suddenly. "To be with you. Completely."

"I never asked you to do that." Bo tone was grave.

"Do you have any idea what it's like for me to watch you with other Fae knowing that I can't give you that. That I can't heal you when you're hurt despite making a career out of it?"

Bo sat up, suddenly looking vulnerable. "They're food, Lauren. You're… so much more than that."

Lauren grew quiet, the gentleness in Bo's voice defusing the ticking time bomb in her chest. "Bo…"

"You are my one great love," Bo smiled sadly.

Lauren took a few steps and crouched near Bo. Her hand reached out to cup Bo's face and Lauren sighed. "And you are the love of my life."

Bo smiled. "So why can't we work this out?" They were a beautiful disaster together and apart. There was no sense to be made about their predicament. They would always go round and round about Fae versus human but tonight there would be one concession made. "No more injections," Bo said seriously.

Lauren had felt the power of the Fae, of Eir, and she would be lying if she said she wanted to give it up. She enjoyed her waning powers on the couch downstairs in the dark. She covered a large bruise from her fall in the forest earlier with a glowing palm and soon her pain was gone as well as the scrapes and bruises.

The bottom stair creaked and Lauren whipped her head around to find Bo standing there in a kimono. "Kinda gives new meaning to 'physician heal thyself.'" Lauren smiled shyly and looked away. "You're not done, are you?" Bo asked.

Lauren considered the question seriously. Could she give up such a gift, even stolen as it were? The answer was 'no' but she was more concerned about refining the serums, removing the side effects and making them last longer. There would be volunteer trials and she would study the strain on the human body. Lauren would be more responsible. She would show Bo that science wasn't the villain and that she wasn't the mad scientist.

Bo walked barefoot to the couch where Lauren still sat. "You do what you have to do," Bo said softly, reaching out for Lauren's hands.

Lauren stood in front of Bo and teased her curls away from her cheek.

An awkward silence fell between the two women. Lauren started to say something but stopped herself before she could make a sound. Her eyes searched Bo's. She was standing on the precipice of something huge, but Lauren couldn't say what it was so she kissed Bo. A failsafe, her touchstone. She held Bo's face as their lips moved against one another and Bo sighed when she pulled away.

"Gee whiz, Doc, are you seriously going to seduce the Succubus in bloody couture?" Kenzi sucked on a lollipop.

Bo smiled and walked to the kitchen, pouring three generous glasses of red wine. Lauren pointed at her clothes awkwardly. "I'm going to change."

Kenzi and Bo were laughing about something. They looked so happy. This gave Lauren pause before she escaped up the stairs. She spun the handles on the bathtub and undressed as it filled with hot water. A sprinkle of bath salts and she was climbing into the tub, hissing as the hot water enveloped her body.

All things considered, Lauren felt great. Bo had healed her and even letting her feed hadn't left Lauren as depleted as she felt after sex with Bo as a human. It was a shame about her clothing, though. She had loved that shirt, now shredded by the Ogre's blade, but she had her life thanks to Bo.

She looked at her hand, glowing above the surface of the water and sighed wistfully. She had enjoyed her abilities, though she might have chosen differently had she known just what the ogres had in store for her. But she wanted to be ready for Bo and Kenzi. She wanted to be able to heal them without Bo having to drain anyone. _So much for that._

She began to wash her arms and chest with a washcloth. The dried blood made her scrub till her skin was red. There was so much blood.

"Want some help?" Bo's voice came from just inside the room. She walked to the bath and took the washcloth from Lauren's hands. Stepping behind her she dipped it in the ruddy water and began to scrub the blood from Lauren's back.

"I've been thinking…" Bo wrung the washcloth out. "I want you to move in with me and Kenzi."

Lauren tried to suppress the smile that spread across her face. "I can't let you and Kenzi take the heat for me."

"And I can't let you take it all on yourself."

"Bo…"

"Lauren," Bo's breath was in her ear. She stood and circled the tub, settling on the edge, looking down at Lauren, whose body was barely covered by the opaque water. "Kenzi's on board, we can get your things tomorrow, if you want."

"Do you really think this is a good idea?"

"I can't think of anything better." Bo smiled. "Now hurry and get changed, Kenzi wants to make sure you eat dinner." Lauren started to say something but Bo finished her thought. "Ever since little T left the nest, Kenzi has been feeling a little maternal." Bo held out a towel and raised her eyebrows at Lauren, who stood bared before her. She wrapped Lauren in her embrace, pulling the towel tight around her. They stayed like that for a long while, Lauren searching Bo's face for regret or misgivings she may have over her offer. Except, she couldn't find one. Instead, she found love sparkling in Bo's eyes and she felt the strong heartbeat of the Succubus to match the intensity of her gaze.

"We're never going to be safe, you know that right?" Lauren said softly.

"We never were," Bo whispered.

When Bo loosened her hold on Lauren, the towel fell to the floor and she wandered into Bo's bedroom. Digging into her overnight bag, Lauren pulled a pair of jeans, a shirt and cardigan from it. She sat on the edge of the bed, naked and warmed from the bath, and Bo leaned in the doorway watching her dress meticulously as Lauren was wont to do.

Kenzi draped an arm over Bo's shoulder and peered into the bedroom, Lauren was buttoning her shirt. "Just catching the live show, huh?" She sipped her wine and smiled at the doctor.

"Kenz, can you give us a few minutes?" Bo asked cordially.

"Uh huh, uh huh, just remember we have a date with Erin Brockovich so keep your pants on."

"I'm going to pretend I don't know what you mean." Lauren smiled and brushed stray lint from her jeans.

Kenzi pointed at Bo. "I mean it." She spun around and retreated back down the stairs.

Bo watched her go and turned to face Lauren. "Big day, huh?" She moved to sit beside her.

"The biggest," a half-smile tempted Bo who leaned in to kiss her.

Lauren pulled away with a short laugh. "Kenzi seemed pretty serious."

Bo's shoulders sagged. "Lauren, I-"

"I know," she whispered into the dimly lit bedroom.

Bo rested her forehead on Lauren's shoulder. "I just want you safe." Bo brushed the blonde hair from her shoulder and kissed her there.

"Why does it feel like I'll always be the damsel to your Prince Charming?" Lauren mused.

A lopsided smile crept across Bo's face. "We're way too R-rated for a Disney movie."

Lauren laughed, and reaching out for her, she kissed Bo hard. She inhaled as their mouths met, moving roughly against each other. Bo leaned over her until they fell back onto the bed together. Lauren lifted her chin, cupping her cheek with one hand, the other patted against Bo's chest. "We can't," Lauren managed between kisses. "We promised Kenzi."

Bo flopped on her back, leaving the kiss that had started the bonfire raging in her heart. She sighed. "Kenzi."

Lauren curled into Bo's side, resting her head on Bo's shoulder. They would go downstairs soon enough, but this moment was theirs.

* * *

The stairs creaked as Lauren descended. Kenzi looked up from an old fashion magazine. "Oh, come _on_, you guys!"

"Bo fell asleep," Lauren said simply.

"Well, if I know my BoBo she'll be in a sex coma for awhile. Let's go get some supplies. It's my first night topside in what feels like forever-" Kenzi looked at her. "You in, Doc?" Lauren went to speak but Kenzi interrupted. "I won't take no for an answer."

Silently snatching the keys from the table she followed Kenzi out to the Camaro. She tossed the keys over the hood to Kenzi. "Just like the Dukes of Hazard reboot but with better hair." Kenzi said sliding into the bucket seat and looking through the passenger window at Lauren. "C'mon Doc, this town has been Kenzi-deprived for far too long."

Kenzi drove the Camaro mercilessly, grinding its gears and scorching its engine en route to their favorite pizza place.

"Slow down," Lauren warned, but mostly she just held on for dear life. An ogre almost snuffed out her life a few short hours ago, there was no way Kenzi would kill her now.

The Camaro lurched into a metered parking spot on the street. Kenzi kicked open her door and strutted into the pizza joint like she had just conquered the city. "Large pepperoni and extra cheese," she patted the counter beside the cash register.

"Eighteen ninety five," the clerk said. Kenzi turned to look at Lauren who was hanging back and watching the spectacle that was reborn Kenzi. Lauren fumbled for her wallet and passed a twenty-dollar bill to Kenzi. Her eyes sparkled as she thanked Lauren.

Waiting for the pizza to be made, the women crossed the street to the liquor store. "Mama is home," Kenzi whispered as they crossed through the shoplifter's threshold.

"So Lauren," she started and Lauren was sure she was up to something because she never called her by her name. "Let's talk about this Fae juju you've got going on." She looked at her seriously. "I want some."

"Kenzi, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding? Bo would never forgive me."

Kenzi peered at her from over the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. "Why?"

"She went to Hel for you, Kenzi," Lauren said, picking a bottle off the shelf. She stood close to Kenzi and spoke quietly. "She loves you because you're human, not despite it."

Kenzi shook her head as she watched Lauren walk toward the reds before catching up in several quick strides. "Man," she said, taking two bottles of Shiraz and tucking them under her arm. "You sure are stupid for a doctor."

Lauren turned to face Kenzi and there was a fire in her eyes that Kenzi didn't recognize. "Pardon me?"

"You don't think she'd go to Hel for you?" Lauren's mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. "You don't think every reason why Bo wouldn't want me to be become Fae couldn't be applied to you, too?" Kenzi waggled a wine bottle at Lauren and walked past her with a chuckle.

When Lauren had eventually caught up with her, Kenzi had amassed an impressive collection of bottles. "Our relationships with Bo are different, Kenzi."

Kenzi leaned back, keeping a close eye on the alcohol passing through the scanner. "I know that," she replied. "The funny thing is that you don't see how that makes you just as important in Bo's eyes." She looked back at Lauren. "She loves us both as humans, surely you realize that."

Kenzi was right. Lauren had betrayed a trust that had been implied since the start. "Shit." _Message received_, Lauren thought.

Kenzi strutted back to the Camaro with a bag of liquor under each arm.

It was unbelievable. She was dead and now she was skipping out of the pizza joint carrying a pizza on her head. Lauren laughed. "I missed you."

"Of course you did."

* * *

Girl's night was rousing success. They lost track of the bottles of wine consumed, bonded over Julia Roberts kicking ass and taking names, and passed out in a dog pile on the sofa before the triumphant ending. Watching Kenzi and Bo together was a window into Lauren's soul. She began to understand that Bo's valuation of humans came more from Kenzi than anywhere else. And she knew Bo was in love with her humanness, too. That's when Lauren truly understood why Bo was so upset with her. Bo loved her, every flawed human part of her but that didn't erase all the wonderful things her humanity brought to the table and Bo loved them, too.

They didn't talk about where Kenzi had been or where Bo had gone to find her. Or the fact that as Lauren sat beside them, she was Fae. Everything was changing, including Lauren and everyone she loved. The dangerous game she played with the Morrigan and even Massimo was coming to fruition, but she was alive, in love, and changed.

They made love-finally-after extricating themselves from the scramble of arms and legs. Lauren seduced her with the sway of her hips, the heat in her gaze, crackling as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked back at Bo as she walked away. She was a craving and a mortal delicacy that Bo could never get her fill of.

The first time was a frenzy of emotions. Regret, longing and remembrance of who they both were before Bo's quest began. Sadness, for losing so much time together and joy, for finally getting there. Bo touched her reverently, like she was handling something priceless, careful not to kiss her too hard or touched her just so. And when she came, she saw the Northern lights shimmering behind her eyelids.

Even as Lauren was catching her breath, Bo was winding up for round two, and three, and four. Lauren lost track of what happened when-it was all so good-but she kept up with Bo. And later when Bo tasted her Fae chi once again, Lauren welcomed it. To finally feel what it was like to be with Bo completely. She felt accepted. Alive. She finally felt what it was like to be fed on and when they lay, gasping for air afterwards, she was unaffected by any lasting effects. And as the sun began to rise on the far wall of Bo's bedroom, Bo held her close and Lauren had never felt so safe in her entire life.

* * *

Lauren had started collecting Fae DNA when she was with the Light. Each case she would handle would come with the obvious blood work of which she earmarked a sample of the blood or saliva for her experiments. Lauren realized the ethical challenges this practice posed but they were Fae and she was their Human slave and the lines became blurred. After a time it was just her personal protocol. One for her, one for them. When she met the descendent of Eir, Lauren had to take a minute to collect herself.

Lauren had amassed an impressive Fae catalogue before she discovered how to synthesize the DNA into a viable treatment. Into something that transcended science. This was a new frontier and Lauren was the trailblazer. For all her posturing about ethics, Lauren seemed to have broken all the rules. She must've realized the conflict of interest at the start of her ambitious, yet obsessive, pet project. She must've known the implications research like this would have on who she was. Who she was meant to be. The shadow cast on her character was unfortunate. Lauren was a good person and though she had made her share of mistakes, this might count amongst them.

It had been a week since Lauren had dosed herself with the DNA of Eir, healer and goddess of medical skill. Staring into the bathroom mirror, she thought of her research and considered how much faith she had in her hypothesis and calculations. And as she stood there, she lifted her glowing palms and stared at their reflection.

After Evony, Lauren had started an experiment to extend the life of the serums. She had only applied it to a few of the samples, Eir's descendent being one of them and much to Lauren's chagrin, it had worked. She took an untested drug and now she could be Fae for weeks, even years.

"Lauren?" Bo's honey-coated voice called from the bedroom.

She smiled, knowing what Bo wanted, what she needed and for once Lauren could give it to her without a second thought. And tonight she wouldn't cry over her humanity because she knew there was no way she had affected the permanency of the serum on her first try. The odds were astronomical and Lauren was good but even she was a long way from tooting her own horn on this.

So she'd ride the wave until it swallowed her whole because for now-she crawled into bed with her Succubus-she was happy to give whatever she could to the woman she loved.

"Where'd you go?" Bo asked, appraising her with sleepy eyes.

"Just freshening up," Lauren smiled as Bo had already begun to cover Lauren with her body again.

"I'm glad you're back," Bo murmured between kisses.

"There's no place else I'd rather be." And with that she was engulfed by Bo. The push and the pull of a soft, wet kiss. The journey of hands across the map of her skin and rich notes of ecstasy drawn out again and again. Lauren was home. Safe and revered. Human and Fae. Lover and friend.

To the bottom.

Loosely, fight for what makes you happy and then get shit-faced on vodka to celebrate your triumph. When Kenzi had explained it to her all those months ago when Bo was missing, Lauren didn't really get it. She didn't know how to fight for Bo then. But after the Taft debacle, Lauren began to think differently about Fae and Human and the science he started spoke to her, dared her to push it further.

So many things made Lauren different from the average scientist, namely the fact that there was nothing average about Lauren and she was used to playing on a unfair playing field. Her devotion to science was all consuming and awe inspiring. Before Bo science was her lover, with cold hands and a warm heart she created things. Antitoxins and antiserums, serums and salves, she had faith in her ability to cure or suppress symptoms as they were presented to her.

Until she met Bo, science was the only thing Lauren could lose herself in. And now Lauren was fighting for her: a preternatural force to be reckoned with and she loved her dearly for it. Their relationship had started with science. When she began to create a remedy for Bo's hunger, she learned about her on the most basic cellular level. Lauren lost herself to the science of Bo before she lost her heart to her. There was no vodka tonight, but Kenzi's words rang truer than a proven hypothesis. You've got to fight for what you love and Lauren's would always fight for Bo and Kenzi. To the bottom.

* * *

Fin.


End file.
